Challenge

For many Sri Lankan girls, their first period arrives before any explanation does. Sixty-six per cent are reportedly unaware of menstruation until it begins, while 78.4 per cent experience anxiety when it happens.

Silence follows them into adulthood. Sanitary napkin penetration remains below 30 per cent, with cost and limited knowledge leading many women to use cloth instead. Yet stigma can prevent that cloth from being washed and dried openly, creating avoidable hygiene risks.

The consequences reach into classrooms and workplaces. Girls may miss school, while women can lose days of income when on their period. What begins as a gap in knowledge becomes a barrier to health, education and independence.

Solution

Fems set out to tackle both sides of the problem: what women know and what they can afford.

In 2021, it launched Fems Aya, an economy-range sanitary pad priced at Rs. 99, alongside an initiative bringing menstrual health education to schools, plantations, universities, garment factories and offices.

This work expanded through the HER Foundation in 2023. Funded partly by Aya’s profits, the foundation organises sessions led by doctors and nurses on menstrual hygiene, physical and emotional changes, and common myths. Participants also receive free sanitary pads.

Its support extends beyond the classroom. More than 200 dispensers providing free menstrual products have been installed in schools, workplaces, cafés and public spaces, increasing accessibility for those who might usually be unable to afford it. Washrooms built with TeeJay Lanka provide clean water and disposal facilities in underprivileged schools, while Purple Bins offer students a safer way to discard used pads.

Fems also created FIO, a trilingual WhatsApp chatbot providing private guidance in Sinhala, Tamil and English. A free app adds cycle tracking, expert information, a community forum and access to doctors, allowing women to take control of their health.